All our problems aren’t mental – how to deal with real problems?

Answer Podcast:

Spiritual problems Are not mental There can be real problems out there Say our manager Or our team may be troubling us In some way So what can we do about dealing with such problems? Yes By no means Is my talk meant to imply That all problems are simply mental In fact The other The mind can even go to the other extreme And make us imagine that there are no problems That everything is rosy That is also an illusion So essentially The point is that There is a physical level of reality And at the physical level of reality In the external world Things can be pleasant Things can be unpleasant And we need to deal with them In a practical way When there are problems in the outer world Usually those problems Can be classified in three categories There are direct action problems There are indirect action problems And there are no action problems So no action problems means We wanted to go somewhere And it rains It’s a storm We just can’t do anything about it If it’s so stormy that we can’t go out We have to accept it See the problem comes When something like a storm is going to come We just understand I don’t have any power over it And we accept it But when there are things Which we think we have power over And when they don’t work That overpowers us That causes us a lot of frustration This person should be behaving like this Why is he doing like that? Why is she doing like that? But that consumes a lot of our energy So there are certain problems We just can’t change Then resenting reality Will only make things worse So if the problem is like that We need to just learn to live with it And that does not mean We just become passive But we channelize our energy Where it will be constructed But other kind of problems can be Direct action and indirect action Direct action means These are the problems Which we ourselves have caused Is there something which we need to do By which we can change? If people don’t trust us It’s because maybe we are not punctual We are not doing our work on time That’s why we are not getting entrusted With some job, some more responsibility We are not getting raises or whatever There are some things which are caused by us And then there are problems which are caused by others This is what you are asking Our planet So we need to first evaluate which category the problem falls in And now Others’ behavior We can’t control But at the same time That does not mean That we can’t do anything We can change others Or we can inspire others To change By our disposition And by our communication The way we behave The way we talk and the way we work So quite often If we are other centered That means if we are centered On our manager, we are centered on someone else Then Our whole Behavior becomes reactive And when our behavior Is very reactive The Bhagavad Gita talks about Udaseena vadaseena asattam tesu karmasu The Bhagavad Gita says that We should not just be a performer of actions But we should also be An observer of actions That means When we start doing something We sometimes get so consumed in doing things Why did I do that? I shouldn’t have spoken like that It’s made things worse So when we become an observer of actions That means We can Different people are different Sometimes when Say When the security checkup is happening That time when they are tapping the body They ask, do you have any sensitive spots? If they have sensitive spots They will be careful in touching those spots So like that everyone has some sensitive spots And we need to If we become an observer This is a sensitive spot, we should be careful And in general If we take care of other sensitivities There is at least Some level of reciprocation So If we assume Either that everything is in our control Or nothing is in our control Then both ways We set ourselves up for frustration But if we analyze What is in my control to change What is in my control to Contribute to a change And what is in my control To just accept When we observe that Then we can deal with the real problems also The Bhagavad Gita Is actually spoken at a time when there is a real problem There were anti-social elements Who had captured power And Arjuna had to fight against them And Arjuna had a mental breakdown So he had a mental breakdown Which prevented him from dealing with the external problem And the Bhagavad Gita Restored his mental equilibrium By which he could deal with the external problem So the Real problems need real solutions And what the best solution Will be in which situation We may have to analyze The specifics of that situation to decide that But the capacity For doing that analysis And the capacity for affecting The best solution That can be enhanced If we cultivate Spiritual wisdom And develop a distance from that situation So by that Sense of distance we get perspective By which we can analyze And implement solutions Does it answer your question? Any other questions?